1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rebate systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of administering a rebate system wherein cash value of a rebate is placed in an omnibus trust account.
2. The Prior Art
Rebate incentive programs provide sponsoring companies an opportunity to promote the sales of the sponsoring company's products or services. Such programs involve a participant purchasing a product from a merchant and then receiving a rebate from the sale. For example, with an instant rebate if one buys a product, the merchant credits the purchaser so that the consumer pays less than the marked price for the product. Some rebates require the consumer to purchase the product then mail a form to a rebate clearing house to receive the rebate. Such rebates provide an immediate incentive to the purchaser. However, they have the disadvantages of not providing an incentive for regular brand loyalty and not providing feedback to the merchant regarding the buying habits of the consumer. Furthermore, mail-away rebates have the disadvantage of requiring the consumer to expend extra effort to secure the rebate, making the product less desirable to the consumer.
Rebate cards provide a merchant the ability to grant rebates on every purchase of a product. Such rebate cards typically include a magnetic stripe that includes purchase-relevant information. Typically, such information includes an account identifier and demographic information about the consumer. In using a rebate card, the consumer presents the card at the point of sale, the card is swiped through a card reader, the information is transmitted to a central computer and the computer credits the consumer's rebate account. At a later date, the rebates accumulated over a predetermined period of time are disbursed to the consumer in the form of a check. Such rebate cards usually are merchant-specific and, therefore, the consumer has a relatively low incentive to use them. Some proposed rebate card systems would allow several different merchants to subscribe to a system, which accumulates rebates from all of the merchants, thereby allowing accumulation of a sizeable amount. However, such systems have the disadvantage of not storing the accumulated rebates in an independent and secure institution. Therefore, they have the perception of being unreliable and may not be workable under current regulatory environments.
Nowhere does the prior art disclose a method of administering a rebate card wherein the total accumulated cash value of a consumer's rebates is stored in an omnibus trust account.